Adam Goodes, The Final Quarter and a Call to Action
Last week I delivered the National Reconciliation Week Oration for the City of Melbourne. I spoke about my own truths as a reluctant recruit to the process, and why I write – to tell the truths of our past, and of our present.
I explained that the Reconciliation process is emotionally and mentally exhausting for many Aboriginal people, because by-and-large, we are still the ones doing all the work, when the heavy lifting is meant to be done by non-Indigenous Australians. And I asked the audience present, and watching via livestream – the ‘goodwill soldiers’ of the process – to be courageous in their conversations as we move forward.
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THE FINAL QUARTER
I put out a call to action about fighting racism, and talked about the film THE FINAL QUARTER which will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival tomorrow night.
I’ve seen the film. I’ve relived via the work of Ian Darling and his team, those final, shameful moments of Adam’s career. And doing so was heartbreaking, challenging, frightening and sad. Just as it was when it unfolded back when Adam was Australian of the Year, an elite Australian athlete, role model and a strong voice in the anti-racism campaign #RacismItStopsWithMe
As I sat in a private suite alone in the dark, I watched with tears in my eyes and a tremor in my heart. When telling others of my reaction to the film afterwards, I struggled to find the word to describe the sadness and the fear I felt reliving that time for a friend, for a brother and for myself as an Aboriginal woman. I call that word: fearness.
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#ISTANDWITHADAM
Back then we did what we could to support Adam. To let him know that he was respected, admired and still the role model we needed. We created the #IStandWithAdam Statement supported by people from around the country, which read in part:
We the undersigned stand in unity alongside Adam Goodes as we did with Nicky Winmar (1993) and Cathy Freeman (1994). We condemn the fact that our gifted sporting heroes, our respected ambassadors, our treasured national icons continue to be ridiculed for demonstrating pride in their identity as First Australians.
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I think that blatant wave of public racism directed at Adam Goodes in the media and at football grounds, impacted all of us, and it is why I was in tears within the first few minutes of viewing and sobbed when it was over. I felt completely wiped out sitting through the collection of media reports and footage that demonstrated bad sportsmanship at best and public displays of ugly racism at worst. Can you imagine what it was like for Adam – national treasure and legend – back then.
Now my maths isn’t great and you may disagree with me. But there are 18 teams in the AFL. Eleven are Victorian. Commentators: Andrew Bolt, Eddie McGuire, Sam Newman and their audiences are by and large Victorians. Victoria is an AFL state. Victoria is the hub for the game because of its history. I don’t know many Victorians who don’t have an AFL team they follow. With that in mind, I think Victoria holds a huge amount of responsibility for dealing with, responding to and wiping out racism in the AFL.
And so, my call to action to the audience that day who were mostly Victorians – but to anyone reading this right now, is this:
When you get the opportunity to see THE FINAL QUARTER (and you can view a trailer here), take someone with you, who you know doesn’t understand what the truth was around the ‘Adam Goodes affair’. Have the courage to insist they go, shout them the ticket if you need to. And have the courage to have the conversation necessary afterwards. It will not be easy. The doco is challenging for all, especially those who cannot see, and cannot understand the truth of what racism looks like and is.
Truth and courage – that’s what this country needs, and I think we can create a better future for all if we can be honest and brave in what needs to be said, and what needs to be heard, particularly around racism in sport.
[Images supplied by Shark Island Institute]
